Fred Hoiberg’s Rifle Squad Proves the Bulls Offense Can Function

In spite of a recent losing streak, the Bulls bench has proven to be more than a force to reckon with. Fred Hoiberg‘s offense is killer when it hums. The only thing to work out now is how to close out games and to really choose which players fit better for a run at the playoffs.

Who says a changing of the guard is always a painless transition?

For the first 15 games or so of this season, newly-hired Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg had plenty of success running a free-flowing offensive system. In the first few Bulls wins, the team had up to six and seven players scoring in double figures. The Bulls were hitting nine to 10 threes each game.

Chicago media types called the new second unit the “Rifle Squad”, instead of the former “Bench Mob” in the Tom Thibodeau era.

Then, the Bulls lost some games because the team let opponents come back with 40+ point fourth quarters. More than twice too. Jimmy Butler called out Hoiberg and his teammates to play tougher Bulls basketball. Butler ran a string of games with 40-point and 50-point performances and got invited into the NBA All-Star Game before burning out with tendinitis on his knee.

Backup center Joakim Noah was already lost for the season for a freak injury on his shoulder, followed by point guard Derrick Rose and a handful of nagging injuries, which forced him to sit out several games. Pau Gasol has also sat out several games after getting winded after back-to-back games.

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The expected losing streak came on as the undermanned Bulls could barely defend the paint and stop All-Star guards from killing them. For a while, both fans and the media were blaming the Bulls front office for mismanaging the team and for not doing enough at the draft deadline to compensate for the player injuries.

Then, the Bulls won a string of games.

Games were won running a Hoiball passing game, where the team’s acclaimed shooters and scorers exploded with glee. Whenever the Bulls got 26 or more assists a game, they killed the opposing team. The “Rifle Squad” finally redeemed themselves in spite of the harsh media and fan spotlight.

Doug McDermott finally played like the future NBA scoring champion he was drafted for; instead of just waiting in the corner on offensive sets and waiting for kick-out passes that never came. He recently had games of 30 and 29 points against the Toronto Raptors using his signature quick release three-point arsenal, aside from his scorer’s touch attacking from anywhere.

Nikola Mirotic came back from a nasty illness to torch the nets from three-point range (he leads the Bulls in three-pointers made) and with his leaner frame, he can actually stay in a defensive stance and keep in front of his man enough for the team to stay tough on defense.

E’Twaun Moore has proven that being one of Purdue University’s top all-time scorers and being a one-time rival of Derrick Rose in the high school ranks was no fluke. Moore is also one of the most underrated NBA defenders at his position.

Also coming back from injury, Mike Dunleavy is still the definitive NBA wing who can gun the three from catch-and-shoot and on-the-fastbreak attacking. New recruit Justin Holiday is THE steal from the 2016 season trade deadline, providing the Bulls with a three-and-D wing player they needed from the get go. Even Bobby Portis has his amazing shooting games, in spite of being just a rookie with raw talent and an unrelenting motor.

With Portis, the Bulls have two unbelievable steals this year. Both Holiday and Portis are young, talented players who are underrated, yet are playing to their NBA potential.  The rabid fans who keep raising hell about the Bulls front office, not knowing what they’re doing, might be eating crow come May if this team gets its game together and kills it.

These guys just might form the core of the Bulls team of the future and may be more important in the chase for the playoffs if everyone was healthy and playing in peak form. Rose can only play so many minutes because of the explosiveness of his game. He doesn’t slack off and attacks all-out whenever he has lanes open, driving into dangerous contact under the rim even. The Bulls really need another player to spell him for 20 minutes or he’ll burn out. Butler plays the same balls-out game, which is why he got injured.

The Bulls’ so-called “Rifle Squad” is the team that will allow the starters to play more optimal games during a playoff grind. Gasol can easily get gassed given his age, but if he is rested, his A-game can spell the difference between making the playoffs and winning it all.

If the starters evenly match with an opposing team’s starters or put their opponents at a disadvantage, the Bulls bench scorers should make that edge more than overwhelming given that Hoiberg uses them wisely in these last 16 games, along with helping put to rest all doubts that the team can’t win without their starters.

Next: Jimmy Butler Won't Shy Away From Late-Season Pressure

The Bulls may be slagged for their supposed lack of defense, but Hoiberg’s boys have recently ranked 10th in the league in shooting percentage allowed for opponents. All the Bulls ever needed to win since last year’s awful exit against a Cleveland team with two injured starters was to have their bench gunners playing good minutes and confidently attacking using a smart passing game. With Hoiball proving it does work, the Bulls has more than a fighting chance to win and make a good playoff run.

They have 16 games and counting to hunker down and play the new Chicago basketball.